


Unfolding Fortune

by TsukiMizuko



Series: Hakurei Puts His Foot Down [1]
Category: Saint Seiya, 聖闘士星矢: 冥王神話 | Saint Seiya: The Lost Canvas
Genre: Angst, Aspros and Defteros Being Adorable Brothers, Fluff, Hakurei Finds Out About The Gemini Curse, He's Not Cool With This, Hurt/Comfort, So he does something about it
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-10
Updated: 2021-01-12
Packaged: 2021-03-14 07:28:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,546
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28666977
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TsukiMizuko/pseuds/TsukiMizuko
Summary: Hakurei finds out about the Curse of Gemini. He may not know its origin, but he does know he can't let a child be treated like a monster merely for being born second.He's going to step in, Athena's Will be damned.
Relationships: Gemini Aspros & Gemini Defteros
Series: Hakurei Puts His Foot Down [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2100906
Comments: 12
Kudos: 19





	1. It Begins with a Sighting

**Author's Note:**

> This is an concept I've been toying with for a while. I've been a big fan of the TLC Gemini twins practically since I started the series, and I hate the whole "the younger twin is cursed" thing, so I decided to do something about it, and this is what happened.

The air is clear and fresh, the lighting beneath the canopy dappled gold and green through the trees. Grass rustles beneath his feet, a mix of green and brown in the chill of the early months of the year.

Two hundred years later, and the east forest is still his favorite place to go to think in peace. His own little sanctuary, if you will.

A smile pulls at his lips when he hears the whispering of the leaves in the trees above him. It's the middle of squirrel mating season, and the little creatures are well at it, as usual. It had been a peculiar pastime of his as a child, watching the males pursue the females back and forth. A reasonable understanding of the point of the prolonged chases had failed to ease the amusement he gained from the little ones' antics.

Yelling and a cry of pain draw Hakurei out of his musings, pulling his attention away from the path in front of him and back to the present. He slows his pace, instantly on guard.

Strange. There shouldn't be anyone out in this area at this time of day. There are no training grounds in the forest, and the only thing of real interest is the Halo, but that is a secret normally kept between Athena, the Pope, and the Gold Saints. Only, the few Gold Saints who are active have been away from Sanctuary from some time now, leaving only a few Gold-level trainees behind, and the trainees won't learn of the Hale until they earn their Cloths.

Following the sounds leads Hakurei deeper into the forest, where he begins to pick up on the first bit of clear speech among the general noise.

"You don't belong here, demon!" The voice is male, a mix of anger and disgust, and the words have Hakurei picking up his pace again, alarmed.

Demons are never a good sign in Sanctuary.

As he gets closer he picks up on more of what's being said.

"You know the rules! You weren't supposed to be anywhere near there."

"How many times do you have to be told before it sticks, worthless runt? Or are you just that stupid that you'll never learn."

"We should have gotten rid of you years ago!"

He finds the source of the commotion when he reaches the edge of a small clearing, still half expecting, despite the various comments he's heard, to find some of Sanctuary's Saints or foot soldiers in combat with some kind of monster. What he finds is completely different.

A group of foot soldiers, perhaps half a dozen in total, all in a half-circle around a much smaller form. A child, to be precise.

A child who looks eerily familiar as he is held up in the grip of two of the men-

Hakurei's brain stops short.

The boy is being _held down_ by men twice his size. Held down and _beaten_.

_This has to stop._

"What is going on here?" Hakurei demands, stepping past the treeline and into the clearing proper.

The foot soldiers' blows halt as they turn to see Hakurei. Every single one of them, even the boy, goes still.

Hakurei scowls disapprovingly. "I asked you a question," he barks at the soldiers. "I want to know what is going on here." As he speaks, a tone of authority that he rarely has use for slips into his voice.

The group of men direct their attention to the one who seems to be the ringleader, who turns to face Hakurei properly. The master Cloth Repairer raises an eyebrow, expectant.

"Master Hakurei," the foot soldier says politely, "We weren't expecting to see you here. I-"

"I don't care what you were expecting!" Hakurei interrupts impatiently. "I asked what was going on. Why are you attacking a child?"

The man flinches visibly, but steels himself. "This _thing_ was born under a star of chaos. He's cursed. If we don't keep it under control it'll betray Sanctuary and Lady Athena!"

 _It?_ Hakurei wonders, equal parts horrified and confused.

"And you call this keeping him under control?" he snaps.

"He was spying on the Saints who were training," the man protests. "He's not allowed to do that."

Hakurei scowls. "And I'm sure beating him is an excellent way to ensure he remains loyal and follows the rules. Did the Pope sanction this treatment?"

When he gets no response, only averted gazes, the old Lemurian glares in disgust.

"Leave," he commands the men. "You've done enough, I will take care of the boy from here."

"But Master!" one of the other men starts to protest. "There's no reason for you to bother with it. We can handle it."

"Yes," Hakurei says, sharp and dry, "Because you've done a masterful job of 'handling' the boy so far. Leave now, and I'll let your actions go this time."

Fortunately, the men take his words at face value, and are gone in a matter of moments.

Hakurei steps further into the clearing, making his way to the boy's side. The boy is unconscious, likely having passed out while Hakurei was speaking with his abusers, and as he kneels down to get a better look, he feels his breath freeze in his chest.

Looking at the boy, it's suddenly clear why he looked so familiar before. He's a near-perfect lookalike to the Gemini trainee Hakurei had seen at the training grounds on his way out to the forest.

"Near-perfect" being the key phrase. This child's skin is some shades darker, his long blue hair wilder.

And his face is covered by a mask. Made of thin, finely crafted strips of metal and held on by sturdy leather straps, the sight of it reminds Hakurei of a muzzled dog.

How appropriate. And revolting. No living being should be muzzled like that.

 _Does Sage know about this?_ Hakurei wonders. And uglier thought occurs to him, one that makes his blood boil. _Does he_ permit _this?_

Shaking away the dark thoughts, Hakurei gathers the boy into his arms and teleports back to the Aries Temple, heading inside and making for the living quarters.

He can worry about what Sage does and doesn't know later. For now, there is a child in need of help.


	2. Worry of a Brother

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aspros always knows when something is wrong with Defteros. Always.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The second chapter, this is so exciting!
> 
> I want to thank everyone who left a comment on the last chapter. Seeing your thoughts helped motivate me to get the next chapter done quickly, and I'm looking forward to hopefully hearing what you think of this one too.

Aspros does his dead level best not to fidget in his spot.

Meditation has never been his strong point the way it is for Sisyphus-which is ironic, considering how little need the Sagittarius trainee has for it-and today his concentration is off by a country mile.

It's to be expected though. What reasonable person can focus when their little brother is in trouble?

Of course, that raises the question: how does one simply _know_ that their brother is in trouble?

But Aspros is special like that. He always knows when something is wrong with Defteros. It's something, he thinks, about being twins.

But that's beside the point. The point is that Defteros is hurting and scared, and Aspros is in the middle of training, so he can't just up and leave to go to his twin like he wants to.

He has an awful feeling that someone caught Defteros doing something he shouldn't be again.

He doesn't blame his little brother for wanting to watch the Saints training, or not wanting to wear the mask, but those are the rules and they can't do anything about them. Breaking the rules only gets Defteros in trouble. Defteros, never Aspros.

_It's not fair._

"Enough." The command from their master snaps Aspros out of his distracted thoughts. He lifts his head, turning his gaze to the Silver Saint in charge of his and the others' psychic training.

Hound Espero stares Aspros down with utter disapproval in his gaze.

"You're not focusing, Aspros!" the man snaps, voice full of irritation. "You've been distracted all day. What is going on?"

The young Gemini trainee winces. He hadn't realized he'd been so obvious about his lack of attention.

"I'm sorry, Master," he says, carefully keeping his voice steady. "My thoughts were… elsewhere."

Even as he says it, he sees his instructor's expression darken, and knows he's made a mistake.

"Then bring them back here," the Silver Saint orders him. "You can't afford to be distracted on the battlefield, so you can't be distracted here either."

"Yes Master," Aspros answers, ducking his head.

_Defteros is going to pay for that later,_ he thinks despairingly. _More than whatever's going on now. I hate it when this happens._

Even as the thought crosses his mind, Aspros feels like a monster. It's not his brother's fault he was supposedly born under a star of chaos. It's not his fault everyone who knows he exists-everyone except Aspros, that is-thinks he's a monster.

Pushing the thoughts aside, Aspros settles back down and struggles to focus on his meditation. Master Espero is right. He can't master his powers if he doesn't meditate, and he can't fight if he doesn't master his powers.

And if he can't fight, he can't protect his brother.

Focused on clearing his mind as he is, Aspros doesn't see the concerned looks of his fellow trainees.

The rest of their meditation time passes far too slow for Aspros' comfort, and when it's over it's all he can do not to leave in a rush. He'll get scolded if he leaves before Master Espero gives them his final instructions for the day.

By the time the Saint is done talking, Aspros wants nothing more than to run.

The second they're dismissed, he reaches out, searching for the bond that lets him know where his brother is at all times.

It doesn't feel… empty, per se, when he finds it, but it feels muted, the way it does when Defteros is asleep.

Only there's no reason for him to be asleep at this time of day.

And besides that, the link would normally lead Aspros out into the east forest, but right now it's pulling in almost exactly the opposite direction.

_It's pulling in the direction of the Twelve Temples._

Aspros bolts before he thinks, ignoring the calls of Sisyphus and Rasgado. Normally he'd be heading for the bath houses with his friends before going to eat with his brother, but today he can't be bothered to wait.

As he reaches the edge of the Gold Saint training grounds, Aspros has to remind himself to slow down. He's not supposed to run in Sanctuary. No one is, generally speaking, but as a Gold-level trainee, Aspros is expected to show some level of decorum.

It's hard though. He hasn't been this worried about his brother since… no, he's always this worried.

Reaching the bottom of the Twelve Temples, Aspros starts making his way up the stairs.

Some distance behind him, he thinks he might hear Sisyphus calling after him, trying to remind him that he's not supposed to enter the Twelve Temples without permission, but it's not his main concern at the moment.

The bluenette reaches the top of the stairs and enters the first Temple, the Aries Temple, making his way along the ornate corridor. It's not the first time he's been here-or even the second-but the sight never fails to amaze him, all crystalline pillars and silver-grey stone walls.

Aspros continues to look around as he walks, trying to figure out where he needs to go. Strangely enough, the bond that links him to Defteros is pulling him to the left, but there's nothing but a wall there.

Aspros pauses, running a hand along the wall, until it suddenly hits a dip.

Not a dip, he realizes, an opening. It's a clever optical illusion, made to look like a solid wall when there's actually a small alcove-like space there.

Aspros slips around the wall and down the hidden hallway beyond it, down a set of steps, and out into a mid-sized, open room. He barely takes the time to observe the room, already heading for the doorway across from the one he entered by.

_Defteros is down there._

The doorway leads into another hallway, this one much shorter, with doors on either side. Aspros pauses, briefly unsure, but then goes for the door all the way at the end of the hall.

It's open, and Aspros through-

The room is well-lit, and looks like some kind of cross between a workshop and a library, with tools and workbenches and shelves with books and scrolls all over the place.

Defteros is on the floor, face down on a pallet and covered with a blanket.

Aspros' heart nearly stops. Face down and utterly still as he is, his little brother looks dead. It's a terrifying sight in every sense.

"Defteros!" he cries. Rushing for his brother's side he kneels down, reaching out a shaking hand to touch his twin's shoulder.

As his fingers make contact the blanket slides down a bit, revealing a patch of stark white fabric.

Aspros stares, then slowly pulls the blanket the rest of the way down, revealing a mass of bandages, white dotted with crimson, wrapped around his little brother's torso.

Biting his lip, the older twin glances around. He hadn't seen anyone as he was coming into the Aries Temple or on his way through the hidden passages to this room, which he can only assume are the living quarters. Now that he's paying attention, however, Aspros realizes that he can sense another Cosmo within the Temple, one large enough to rival that of Pope Sage himself.

And it's headed right for him.

Aspros whips around in time for the door that had fallen partially shut behind him to creak open and a person to step inside the room.

He finds himself looking at an old man, long, grey-white hair pulled into a long tail at the back of his head, leaving two long strands that hang down to frame a face lined with fine wrinkles, and a pair of olive green eyes set below round red dots, much like the ones Aspros has seen on a few Saints, the ones who originate from the town of Jamir.

This man is a Lemurian.

The two stare at each other in surprise for several long moments, neither moving, before the severe look on the old man's face settles faintly into a smile.

"Hello young man," he greets Aspros, apparently having pulled himself back together. "Would you be so kind as to tell me what you're doing in my workshop?"

Aspros hesitates, unsure how to answer. Ultimately, he settles on the truth.

"I was trying to find my brother," he explains. "I was worried about him, so I went looking and found him here."

"Brother?" The man rolls the word around his mouth curiously, as though getting a taste of it. "I see… and now, I _see_."

Aspros blinks. "Sir?" he asks unsurely.

"You two are twins," the man says, a statement, rather than a question.

Aspros nods dumbly. He really shouldn't be that surprised. He and Defteros are nearly identical, after all, but there's a part of him that's starting to panic, realizing that someone who doesn't know about Defteros-he'd know if this man did, he knows everyone who knows about his twin-has caught them.

_This is going to get us both in so much trouble,_ he thinks helplessly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Leave a comment and tell me what you think (or don't, it's up to you).
> 
> I'll try to get the next chapter finished and posted soon.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!


End file.
